Uses of Usumacinta River sediments as a sustainable resource for unpaved roads: An experimental study on a full-scale pilot unit

Abstract

Purpose: Transportation is a key factor for economic growth and poverty reduction because it improves access to services and opportunities for rural communities. Unpaved roads, however, still represent 80% of the global road network. The state of Tabasco, Mexico, is not an exception. Materials and methods: Geotechnical identifications of raw and lime-treated sediments are performed. A methodology is developed to reproduce a soil-model close to the raw sediment's properties. The reconstituted soil-model is used for full-scale testing including CBR indexes determination, cyclic vertical plate testing and horizontal traffic loads tests. Results: The rutting generated from the cyclic plate and traffic load tests, on both the untreated and the lime-treated soil-model, are compared. The lime treatment appears to improve the properties of both the soil-model and the sediments. Conclusions: The findings give promising perspectives regarding the use of Usumacinta River sediments for the construction of unpaved roads.

Keywords

• Usumacinta River sediments
• Lime treatment
• Soil-model
• Cyclic plate testing
• Traffic load testing
• Unpaved road